Around the dial

We lead off this week's edition at The Twilight Zone Vortex, where Brian discusses an excellent episode from the show's final season, "Night Call," written by the great Richard Matheson, and starring Gladys Cooper in an outstanding performance.

The "Tony Wright Season" continues at Cult TV Blog, with John looking at one of my favorite British imports, The Saint, and not one, not two, but three episodes in which Tony Wright appears: "The Arrow of God," "The Crooked Ring," and "Where The Money Is." Great stuff!

I don't know about you, but I was a big fan of Roller Derby when it was on local TV in the 1960s and 1970s, and that's my excuse to link to Classic Film & TV Cafe, where Rick's talking about Raquel Welch in Kansas City Bomber. I think that's good enough, don't you?

Along those same general lines, at Classic Film and TV Corner, Maddy reviews the 1956 movie Anastasia, which represented Ingrid Bergman's return to Hollywood (as well as an Academy Award), and look at that picture of her: there's a beauty there that is hard to top in today's movies.

Did you watch the Super Bowl on Sunday? We did not, for something like the twenty-fifth consecutive year, but Bob Sassone did, and he's got thoughts about some of the commercials, as well as some random observations that are, as always, well worth your time.

Terence has some fine content at A Shroud of Thoughts; not obituaries, but: a tribute to Leslie Nielsen on his 100th birthday; a look at Margaret Hamilton (the Wicked Witch in The Wizard of Oz) on Sesame Street; Get Christie Love!, and happy 95th birthday to Mamie Van Doren!

At Television's New Frontier: The 1960s, we're at the 1962 episodes of the perennial favorite, Ozzie and Harriet, and while the show may be running on fumes at this point, it's interesting to look at some of the best episodes, such as how aging parents deal with adult children who have their own lives. 

You may recall that last week at The View from the Junkyard, The A-Team was involved in drama involving firefighters. This week, in the episode "Timber," it's lumberjacks! With a little bit of Bigfoot thrown in, how can you possibly say no?

My latest appearance with Dan Schneider in our American television history series is a look at the decade of the 2000s, and while I don't find this a terribly compelling decade for TV, it does raise some interesting questions about trends, psychology, and all kinds of interesting things.

Finally, it's never too early to start looking forward to my upcoming novel, The Book of Revelations. Want to know more about it? You can check out the teaser page here. TV

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Around the dial

At The Ringer, Alison Herman and Miles Surrey have an interesting discussion about how streaming television has eliminated the traditional need for episodes to have set running times; after all, with no schedule to worry about, why sweat the length? I've touched on this before, in writing about half-hour dramas and how they require a certain storytelling discipline (not to mention not creating melodramatic B plotlines). Hint: it applies to hour-long shows as well. Just because you can doesn't mean you should. 

I don't know about you, but I'm always up for a savage review, and when I can't get to Cleveland Amory, I'm more than willing to settle for one like this week's at The Flaming Nose, on the current Epix series Domina. Yes, it's not from the classic era, but when a show is described as "the single worst piece of garbage to ever pretend to be based in some sort of historical context," it attains its own form of classic status. 

On the other hand, if you're looking for a recommendation of what to watch (rather than a condemnation of what not to watch), you can gravitate toward RealWeegieMidget and Gill's review of The Six Million Dollar Man episode "The Solid Gold Kidnapping" from 1973, featuring the wonderful Luciana Paluzzi.

On Wednesday you got the latest update on the shows I've been watching lately, but I'm not the only one doing this; at Cult TV Blog, John gives us a look at his own playlist. I always enjoy looking at these for tips, since I've got a region-free DVD player; I have to admit that the only title I recognize is Whodunnit, some episodes of which I've seen thanks to the mighty Mike Doran!

At Bob Crane: Life & Legacy, Carol and Linda continue to defend Bob Crane from the fake news and misinformation that's out there. Good for them, and I despise the laziness of people who don't take the time to get their facts straight. It's one thing to make an honest mistake; it's another to simply build on top of misinformation that's been going on for years, thereby perpetuating it.

At bare-bones e-zine, Jack introduces us to another Hitchcock Project writer, Victor Wolfson, and his first script for the series, the first season episode "The Perfect Murder," a great adaptation of a story with a marvelously wicked twist at the end.

"Bilko" is such a great name for a shifty character like the one that Phil Silvers plays in The Phil Silvers Show, isn't it? This week at The Horn Section, Hal takes a look at "Bilko's Perfect Day," and you can bet on this: if it's being called "perfect," it most assuredly has a fly in the ointment somewhere. 

At Television's New Frontier: the 1960s, it's a look at the 1962 episodes of The Twilight Zone. The show's starting to show the effects from having to produce high-quality episodes week after week, and Serling & company are feeling burnout, but TZ is still capable of putting out some classic stories.

Martin Grams provides an update on the continuing project to release the entire run of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (all 435 episodes) after the passing of David Nelson. As Martin reminds us, if you want to see the whole series released, put your money down on the first two seasons that have come out. TV  

Around the dial

We'll kick off the week with a personal note: this weekend, I'll be one of the guests on Ed Robertson's terrific TV Confidential radio show. We'll be talking about classic TV, of course, as well as my book The Electronic Mirror. I had a great time talking with Ed, who's a gentleman as well as a host who really knows how to bring the best out of his guests (and having interviewed a few people in my time, I know that's no mean feat). Check here to find the time and station near you. And if you like what you hear, buy a book!

And now for the rest of the news. Are you feeling down and out, bunky? At Comfort TV, David has the answer for you: "The Kappa Sigma Party," a charming episode of Ozzie & Harriet that points to a simpler time, a world that one might not mind being part of.

One of those comfort TV worlds that David talks about is that of Perry Mason, and as you all know, Perry's trusty detective Paul Drake was played by William Hopper. At Classic Film & TV Café, Rick tells us seven things to know about a man who was much more than a P.I.

At Bob Crane: Life & Legacy, Carol shares another great find: an aircheck of a 1968 broadcast that Bob did for the U.S. Armed Forces Radio and Television Network, including pre-recorded interviews from the early '60s with Otto Preminger, Bill Dana, Steve Allen, and Jayne Meadows.

At A Shroud of Thoughts, Terence pays tribute to the career of the late Christopher Pennock, whose long television resume includes various roles on Dark Shadows (including Leviathan leader Jeb Hawkes and astrologer Sebastian Shaw).

Finally, Drunk TV (what a great name!) goes in-depth to look at the second season of the 1960s sitcom Dennis the Menace, the highest-rated of the show's four seasons. Check out some of the stars that helped make the season a success. TV  

Around the dial

This, really, is the only way to watch television on the day after Thanksgiving. Or any other day, for that matter. If you're struggling with a tryptophan hangover, or, like me, if you have to work today, then you probably need something to wake you up. Not saying this is all you need, but perhaps it's a good start.

Why not begin with the Nelson family? That's what David does, in this comforting Comfort TV look at how Ozzie & Harriet spend the day after Thanksgiving. If you've ever had your heart set on something you can't get, you'll know how Ozzie feels.

Once Upon a Screen celebrates a 9th anniversary with some wonderful pictorial representations of the traditional gifts for the occasion. Nine years; as I can attest, time does fly when you're having fun, whether you're on the writing or the reading end of things.

It's always nice to be reminded, as Jodie does in this Garroway at Large, that Dave did more than Today. This week, she offers a rare clip from a 1957 episode of Wide Wide World, and it is too bad that so much of our television heritage from this era has been lost, isn't it?

The Broadcast Archives at the University of Maryland links to this Slate article on the times, and they really weren't that so long ago, when the puppets known as the Kuklapolitan Players could charm the nation's TV viewers. If we could just depend on something that gentle today.

At Television's New Frontier: the 1960s, it's a look at 1962 on The Andy Griffith Show, and beyond the usual good rundown on the season's episodes, take a special look at the guest star lineup, a terrific collection of familiar, and sometimes surprising, faces.

You may love Christmas as much as anyone, but if you're getting just a little tired of hearing the same old tunes year after year (especially when they start playing them in October), Martin Grams may have the answer for you: a list of vintage Christmas music you may never have heard. 

Finally, at The Hits Just Keep on Comin', JB's latest podcast shares his recent experience spending five nights in the hospital, four of them in the ICU. He's good now, and even though it's the day after Thanksgiving, that's something for which we can all be thankful. TV  

Around the dial

Full disclosure: I was never a fan of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Oh, there was a time after the horror of Star Trek V when I thought TNG showed a level of gravitas that the movie sadly lacked; but after about a year, I'd had more than I could take and quit watching. My wife hung in there for another year or so before she did the same. So perhaps I'm not the right person to judge what makes an awful episode of TNG, but you'll still want to check out Rob Bricken's article at Gismodo about the amazing number of terrible episodes the series had while still managing to be good.

At The Ringer, Brian Phillips has a typically thoughtful piece on the fascination that murder holds for us, on television as well as podcasts. As Phillips says, "we can’t ask 'where is murder going?' without also asking 'where are we?'" You'll want to read the rest.

There aren't many entertainment sites more iconic than the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and this week at Comfort TV, David celebrates the classic TV stars who have their star on the Walk—and the many who should have them, but don't.

It's F Troop Friday at The Horn Section, and Hal's focus this week is on the season two episode "Bye, Bye, Balloon," with Harvey Korman as the aptly named balloon expert Colonel Heindrich von Zeppel.

At The Secret Sanctum of Captain Video, it's the exciting conclusion of the Untouchables comic book story "The Conspirators," with comic-book Eliot Ness looking every bit as tough as Robert Stack does on-screen. (For part one, go here.)

The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet is in its tenth season as 1961 rolls around, and that's the focus of the latest Television's New Frontier: The 1960s. Well, that and the transient nature of the Nelson boys' girlfriends.

The bizarre, glorious world of Dark Shadows is the subject of Ivan's musings at Thrilling Days of Yesteryear. There are certainly soaps that have had longer runs (Ivan mentions that Days of Our Lives is headed for season 56), but I don't know of many that are more fondly remembered than the Gothic wonder of Shadows.

Carol looks back at the origins of Bob Crane: The Authorized Biography, especially the need to broadcast the true story of Bob's life in order to counter the distortions of Auto Focus, at Bob Crane: Life and Legacy, You can also catch the latest episode of "Flipside," the podcast hosted by Carol and her co-author, Linda Groundwater.

Finally, Jim Lehrer died yesterday at 85. Like his partner Robert MacNeil, Jim Lehrer was one of the last of the old-time reporters on network news; whether or not you agreed with the opinions on The MacNeil/Lehrer Report, it was always a stimulating show, one with the gravitas that's completely gone from network news today, not to mention the rest of television.

Where will this week's TV Guide take us? Tune in tomorrow and find out. TV